The Three Gorges opens
its sluices in Yichang, central China's Hubei Province. Photograph:
Xiao Yijiu/ Xiao Yijiu/Xinhua Press/Corbis
We are entering a new hydro-dam era. As John Vidal
has reported,
construction of hydropower in the Himalayas will be one of the great
forces for change in Asia and a hot spot of regional tension between
China, India, and Pakistan.
In Africa, the growth aspirations of
many countries are pinned at least in part on the development of its
extraordinary hydropower endowment. Only about 5% of the continent's
hydropower potential has been developed thus far. But things are
changing. Ethiopia's construction of the Renaissance Dam in the upper
Blue Nile – which, when completed will be one of the largest dams on the
continent – has sparked conflict with downstream Egypt and made
headlines about
water wars on the Nile. Recently, the World Bank
has announced its return
to financing hydropower as part of its core strategy, after almost two
decades during which it has been virtually inactive in the sector.
Hydropower
development has a troubled history. Relocation of people to make room
for reservoirs, downstream environmental impacts from the fragmenting of
rivers, and the profound modification of aquatic ecosystem – all drive
legitimate concerns about the development of this type of
infrastructure. But hydropower also brings essential base-load supply, a
renewable source of energy, and in some cases much-needed storage
capacity and flood control. Managing these competing objectives requires
facing difficult trade-offs, which are not susceptible to broad-brush
strokes positions.
Not yes or no, but where and how
While
some dams' impacts clearly outweigh their benefits, in many places the
most important question may not be whether to build a dam but rather
about where and how hydropower is built. On 1 July I stood along the
Penobscot River in Maine with colleagues and onlookers from partner
organisations, government, local businesses and the community to watch
the historic removal of the Veazie Dam.
This was the second of two
major dam removals as part of the Penobscot River Restoration project –
one of the largest such projects in the world. The project will greatly
improve access to nearly 1,000 miles of habitat for endangered Atlantic
salmon and a number of other species of native sea-run fish – many of
which had dwindled from annual populations in the millions in the 1800s
to only a few thousand by 2011.
In the late 1990s, after decades
of conflict around re-licensing of individual dams on the river and
proposals to add new dams, a single power company bought all the dams in
the lower river basin. This changed the debate. Instead of taking a
dam-by-dam approach, the Penobscot Indian Nation, a number of
environmental groups and the Penobscot River Restoration Trust were able
to work with the hydropower company and federal and state regulators to
look across the river basin and find a solution that meets multiple
needs. Ultimately, an agreement was reached to remove the dams while
increasing fish passage and electricity generation at other less harmful
sites – reestablishing river health, recreation and culture while
increasing electricity generation.
Scale, risk and outcomes, looking over the horizon
This
example demonstrates something important. Limiting the impacts of
hydropower while harnessing its benefits is first and foremost an
optimisation problem. By taking a river-basin wide perspective, the
siting and construction of dams can be directed toward the least
damaging places within a basin – ensuring as much of the natural flow of
water, sediments, nutrients and fish are sustained as possible for the
benefit of people and nature. This does not avoid the difficult
trade-offs but can improve outcomes.
This is the conversation that
needs to happen, and the only route to global impact. Organisations
like mine have the science, some solutions and emerging ideas, but
businesses and governments will be making the large-scale infrastructure
investments and have the delivery capacity that will dictate our
reality. This is why the Nature Conservancy and China Three Gorges
Corporation have just signed an agreement to work together for the next
five years. This agreement builds on our conservation work on the
Yangtze River and attempts to begin exporting our lessons and practices
to other international locations where Three Gorges works.
It will
not be easy and we should not be under any illusion that we will always
land on the same side of the debate. But if we fail to engage with the
hydropower community, we will miss an enormous opportunity for positive
impact. While we may at times still be at odds, working with business –
and with governments where major development is occurring – is the only
way to bring sustainable solutions to a scale that can alter the path
we're travelling on.
Giulio Boccaletti is managing director of global water at The Nature Conservancy
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